How can Bethlehem Steel FC reach USL playoffs?

Bethlehem Steel FC head coach Brendan Burke has his team at 13-12-8 an in eight place in the USL Eastern Conference.

Bethlehem Steel FC head coach Brendan Burke has his team at 13-12-8 an in eight place in the USL Eastern Conference. (APRIL GAMIZ / THE MORNING CALL)

Tim ShoemakerSpecial to The Morning Call

Brendan Burke has been here before.

In his first two seasons as Bethlehem Steel FC head coach, the team was on the playoff bubble as the season neared an end.

In Steel FC’s inaugural season of 2016, it did not make the USL’s eight-team Eastern Conference playoffs.

Last year, Bethlehem got in as the last seed and lost in the first round to eventual champion Louisville City.

This year, the story is nearly the same. The Steel FC has danced on both sides of the line that has them in the playoffs. Entering Sunday’s regular-season finale vs. the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Bethlehem (13-12-8) stands in eighth place with 47 points. The Steel FC could move up as high as No. 5 or fall out of the playoffs completely.

The good news, from Burke’s perspective, is that his team is not waiting for someone to lose. A win and the Steel FC is in. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. at Lehigh University’s Goodman Stadium. The game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+.

“We’re not going to beholden to watching other results for the weekend. It’s about us and our performance on Sunday,” Burke said. “It would be good if we made the playoffs. It is certainly something we’ve strived for. We want to finish as high up in the table as possible. That’s progress for us in our little microcosm of the (Union). It’s a good time to be here. It’s our responsibility to keep that momentum going for everyone.”

Tampa Bay (11-14-8), in its first season in the USL, is not in the playoff hunt. Whether that affects the atmosphere remains to be seen. Sometimes, teams give up. And sometimes, they do not.

“When guys are playing for their jobs, it makes them unpredictable,” Burke said.

Bethlehem has been, in Burke’s mind, comfortably predictable. Serving as a pipeline from the Philadelphia Union Academy teams to the Union itself, Burke has had to take a slightly different roster each week and make it work.

With the Union not playing this weekend, the chances of Bethlehem getting the services of some MLS players seem high.

“Anyone who mixes in from the first team has bought in something,” Burke said. “Some of these guys have texted me, asking me what can they do. The culture that [Union coach] Jim [Curtin] has bred is really awesome. … You aren’t a professional athlete or coach if you aren’t a competitive person.”

Bethlehem is coming off a draw at current No. 5 Indy Eleven and is 1-2-2 n its most recent five games. Despite this, Burke said that he is pleased with how the team is playing.

“In Indianapolis, we had a good performance from the entire group,” he said. “There wasn’t a weak link in the entire group. That’s impressive because there were seven guys under the age of 20 in the starting lineup. I’m really happy with how we’ve progressed through the season. We’re getting younger and younger and younger as we go. We’re happy with where we’re at.”

Tampa, which holds a 1-0-2 all-time series lead, will not look the same as it did when the teams met in Bethlehem. Neill Collins is the new coach.

Burke said that he is impressed with his team’s confidence so far.

“We have a firmly-established pipeline at this point,” he said. “I like the blend we’ve seen, and this weekend, I have every confidence they’ll be locked in.”